Trip casing-spear.



INo. 769,097.v `MTBNTBD AUG. so, 1904. G. T. MAPBS.

vTRIP CASING SPEAR.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 10. 1904.

y 1 UNITED. STATES atented August 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.-

CLARENCE MAPES, OF GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRIP CASING-SPEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent lNo. 769,097, dated August 30, 1904. i

Application filedl February l0, 1904:. Serial No. 192,981- (N o model.)

To all wil/0711, t may concern:

'lyiBe it known that I, CLARENCE T'MAPES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grafton, in the county of Allegheny and Statef'f Pennsylvania, have invented certain *new and useful Improvements in Trip Casingpulling7 the tubing, casing, or pipe from the Well; and the invention has for its object theprovision of means whereby tlie'spear may be disengagedfrom the tubing, casing, or pipe at will if it should b e found impossible to remove or pull the same or should it be desired to disengagethe spear from the` size tubing, casing, or pipe instead ofA neces sitating a certain spear for eachweiglit of a given size casing.v

" 'A still further ,object of the present invention is to p rovide a spear inv which the unlocking means for the slips of the spear are controlled at the baseof the spear.

A still further-object of the present invention is` to provide a casing-spear with slips adapted -to enter the interior of the casing, tubing, or pipe'and4 be forced outwardly into engagement with the wallsl of the said casing, t'ubing,'or pipe. v

In the art ofwell-drilling, and particularly in the drilling of oil and gas wells, it is frequently desirable and necessary to remove the casing, tubing, or pipe for one vcause or another. Heretofore and before myinvention it has been the general practice to employ a spear designed especially for the particular diameter of casing, tubing, or pipe to -be vreriioved-'tl1at is, different-sized spears were required for the different weights per foot of a `given-sized casing, tubing, or pipe. In the casing, tubing, or pipes now used they are made of four or live different weights, the eX- terior diameter remaining equal throughout the different weights, but the inside diameter varies according to the Weight per foot, and the main object of myinvention is to provide a spear adjustable to these inside diameters.

The former practice heretofore referred to isl not only therefore a costly one, but an incon-v venient one as nwell, as frequently the operator does not have at hand a spear adapted or designed for the particular size of casing, tubing, or pipe that it may bedesired to remove from the well. Myinvention, on the contrary, as will be readily understood from the aforestated objects, will obviate this inconvenience andl will materially reduce thev expense, as it will require but one spear forscribed, as various equivalents may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit. or the :scope of the invention as described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the spear in its unset or .normal position.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view showing the tool set l ready for insertion in the casing, tubing, or pipe.

Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectional viewlof the spear inserted` in tliecasing, tubing, or pipe, showing 'the slips forced into engagement with the walls of said casing, tubing, orl

pipe with the plunger stilll set. Fig. 4 is a like view showing the spear started on its upward movement and tripped. Fig. 5 is ai perspective view of the wedge-shaped grip-- ping-slips. Fig. 9 is a detached detail per-l Fig. 7 is a detail 'perspective view of Fig. 8 is a'detachcd detail tudinally-extending grooves or ways 8, preferi spective of the cap or nut that forms the lowei' end of body. Fig. 10 is a detached detail perspective view of the plunger or mandrel. Fig. 11 is a detached perspective view of one of the bow-shaped wings carried by the plunger or'mandrel. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 12 12 of Fig. 6. Fig. 13 is a like view taken onthe line 13 13 of Fig. 6. Fig. 14 is a like view taken on the line 14 14 of Fig. 6. Fig. 15 is a detail perspective view of the snap or locker, and Fig. 16 is a like view of the draw-screw employed for releasing the locker.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

1 represents the body of the spear, which is provided at its upper end with a screw-joint 2 to attach same to the tools (not shown) upon which it is to be used, the said body being usually provided also with a squared or other suitably-faced portion 3 to receive a wrench for the purpose of screwing the spear on or off the tools. The two opposite side faces 1 of the body are made at an incline whereby to make this portion of the body substantially wedge-shaped, and on these inclined faces of the Wedge-shaped portion of the body the gripping-slips are adapted to operate, as will be hereinafter more fully described, while the body terminates at its lower end in a threaded portion or neck 4, adapted to receive a nut or cap 5 threaded thereon and forming, consequently, the extreme lower end of the body. The inclined faces 1 of the wedge-shaped portion of the body are each provided with longiably of dovetail form,open at their lower ends, and which grooves receive the tongues 7, (corresponding in form to the grooves 8,) that are formed on the slips 6, that work on the inclined faces 1. These slips are preferably constructed from tempered steel and are made substantially wedge shape in form, being provided on their exterior with teeth or wickers 2', so made or cut in the faces of the slips as to bite or take into the inner face of the casing, tubing, or pipe on the upward movement of the spear. It is to be observed that the exterior faces of the slips are convex, the radius of these convex toothed surfaces conforming to the inside diameter of the smallest (or heaviest Weight) of the given size of easing, tubing, or pipe which the spear is made for, the diameter of the spear taken through the slips when the latter are retracted and locked in their inoperative position being less than the body proper upon Which said slips are mounted, but that the slips when unlocked and in the vertical position, as in use, move downward of their own weight upon the wedge-shaped body, thus increasing their own diameter.

The uniform movement of these slips upward and downward on the wedge-shaped body is insured by means of a key 9, which passes entirely through the body, the latter being slotted, as at 4, for a distance equal to the fall or travel given the slips, said key litted tightly or stationary in the opening 3. in one slip and sufiiciently loose in the corresponding openl ing in the opposite slip, so that as the slips I are operated up or down on the wedge-shaped l body the key works forward and backward t in the one slip. rl`he slips are thus required to drop uniformly together to the face of the cap or screw-bowl 5, which acts as a stop or limit to the travel of the slips.

The lower end of the body is cored, as at 12, and extending into this cored end through an opening 11 in the cap or screw-bowl 5 isa plunger or mandrel 10, which works vertically in the cored portion of the spear-body, the lower portion of said mandrel or plunger being designed to form a friction-cage. lo this end I provide on opposite sides of the plunger-or mandrel some distance above its lower end two cross-bars or projections 13 and likewise adjacent the extreme lower end of the plunger or mandrel two similar crossbars or projections 13, each of which pairs of projections are slotted to receive bowshaped wings 14. The exgosed or outer surfaces of these wings are convex in form, and the wings are suitably held in place, as by providing notched necks 14 at the upper ends to enter the slotted projections 13 and inserting rivets or pins 15 through the slotted projections 13 and 13. The plunger or mandrel is cored transversely or provided with openings 16, extending through the mandrel at the projections 13 13, and in which openings are placed springs 17, that are slightly compressed l against the respective ends of the two wings. The plunger or mandrel is provided at its u pper end with a threaded portion 18 to receive a nut or collar 19, whereby the plunger is held within the body. Two dogs or pawls acting as lockers are hinged or pivoted to the cap or nut 5, and a convenient and practical embodiment of construction which I. have employed in this connection is to provide the cap or nut 5 with an annular flange or collar 5 at its lowerend in which to pivot or hinge tlielockers, the ends or points of the lockers fitting or taking into a groove 21, cut around the mandrel or plunger 10, and in which groove they are retained when set by the compression of the spiral spring 22, arranged on the plunger or mandrel between nut or collar 19 and the shoulder 6 in nut or cap 5.

Means is provided for holding or locking the spear in the set position for insertion into the casing, tubing, or pipe, and to this end I provide at the point of the uppermost position of the key 9, which joins the slips 6 6, a hole 23, drilled into the body extending therein transversely to the slot 4, and which hole l is tapped at the surface to receive a threaded plug 24, having a squared hole 24 therethrough to receive the squared end or portion 23 of the locking-pin 25, which is notched at IOO TIO

` its'e'ndtoiit into 'a groove or` notch' 26,-pro-I vided 'therefor in` the key 9, the locker or 'locking -pin beingfforc'ed into engagement ,A With-thenotch in the key 9 by means of the spiral spring 27,a'rranged'ony the shank of the vpin between the annular shoulder 26v thereof and the plug 24. v For the purpose of releasing the locker I provide a draw-screw 28, which is4 engaged 'in'the tapped portion vvattached to the tools upon which Ait is to be l allows the same'to drop by their own weight uniformly, as heretofore described. As the lowered vinto the casing, tubing, or pipe, itis then set, so a'sto be able to dise'ngage. `This is eifectedby pulling downward on the plunger or mandrel 10 and pressingthe two dogs orpawls2'0"into the ygroove 21 cut around the plunger or mandrel to receive them, the pressure of' the lspring 22 between nut or collar 19 and shoulder 6/ in the cap or screwbowl 5 holding the dogs or pawls rigidly in their seated engagement in the groove. rIhe draw-screw .28 is then inserted in tap 29 and the locking-pin 25 pulled outwardly, so as to disengage the inner end of the same from notch 26,` which operation releases the slips 6 and' spear enters the casing, tubing, or pipe the two wings 14 ofthe friction-cage are compressed to the diameter of the casing, tubing, or' pipe, and. the slips 6 as they enter the casing, tube, or pipe are forced upward on the wedge-shapedbody until 4they form a diameter that permits theml to enter the casing, tubing, or pipe, and in this condition the spear is lowered into the casing, tubing, or pipe tothe position where it is desired to engage the same. As the tools to which the spear is attached are lifted upward the slips 6 engage the inne'rwall of the casing,

tubing, or pipe, and under pressure of the upward lift aslight expansion occurs at the point of'contact. Through frictional contact of the wings 14 with the casing, tubing, or

pipe the friction or spring-cage', which formsy the lower end of the plunger or mandrel, the same h as remained stationary, and as the body of the spear `moves upward the two dogs or lockers 2O are released and of their own weight drop away from the groove 21 in the plunger 10.. The operator continues the effort to pull the casing, tubing, or pipe; but

-contact with 'the top of the plunger 10 the slips are'forced upward on'the inclined vfaces 1 4of the wedge-'shaped'portion of the body and firmly locked as `they reach theireXtreme lupper position by the pin 25 being forced under action of spring 27 into" engagement with the notch 26 inthe key 9. The tools, with the spear attached, may then be removed.

In the practice of the invention various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spiritof the invention or the scope thereof as 'claimed I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. .In a casing-spear, the .combination 'of the' body formed on opposite sides with inclined faces having grooves therein, said rbody hav-l ing a cored lower end and having a transverseopening, slips working on the inclined faces of the body, a key connecting said slips, a`

cap fitted on the lower end of 'the body, a

plunger working throughl the cap and extend- `ing into the cored portion of the body, pawls carried by the cap to engage in a groovepropurpose specified. l

i 2. In aca'sing-sp'ear, the combination Awith the body'provided with inclined faces on opposite sides, gripping-slips movable on said `faces, and means for locking said slips at a certainposition'on the faces, of a. plunger eX- tending into the lower end ofthe body, two pairs of projections on said plunger arranged respectively at the Ilower end and approximately midway the length of the plunger,

I Having f ully described my invention, what Ioo' bow-shaped wings having notched upper ends received in the upper pair of projections, the lower ends of said wings received in the lower pair of projections, and pins passed through the projections to hold the wings therein, substantially as described.

3. In a casing-spear, the combination ofthe body having oppositely disposed inclined faces, toothed slips working on said faces, means for locking the slips against movement, means for causing the slips when released to move in unison, a cap secured to the lower end of the body, a plunger working through the cap and into the body, pawls carried by the cap to engage agrooveprovided therefor in the plunger, means within the body for holding said pawls in engagement with the groove, and spring-pressed bow-shaped wings IIcv vmeans carried by the body for engagement with the key to hold the slips at a certain position on the body, a cap secured to the lower end of the body, pawls carried by said cap, a plunger working through the cap and provided with a groove to receive the pawls, and a friction-cage carried by the plunger, substantially as described.

5. In a casing-spear, a body, toothed slips working on opposite faces of said body, means for locking said slips at the highest point of their travel on the body, a cap secured to the lower end of the body, a plunger working through the cap and into the body and provided with a groove, pawls carried by the cap to take into the groove and hold the plunger in its lowermost position, and a friction-cage carried by the plunger, substantially as described.

6. In a casing-spear, a body, toothed slips working on opposite faces of said body, means for locking said slips at the highest point of their travel on the body, a cap secured to the lower end of the body, a plunger working through the cap and into the body and provided with a groove, pawls carried by the cap to take into the groove and hold the plunger 4in its lowermost position, and spring-pressed bow -shaped wings carried by the substantially as described.

7. In a easing-spear, a body, toothed slips working on opposite faces of said body, means for locking said slips at the highest point of their travel on the body, a cap secured to the lower end of the body, a plunger Working through the cap and into the body, means carried by the cap for engagement with the plunger to hold the latter in its lowermost position, a spring within the body and surroundplunger,

ing the plunger for holding the latter in the elevated position when the means carried by the cap is disengaged from the plunger, and a friction-cage carried by the plunger, substantially as described.

8. In a casing-spear, a body having inclined faces on opposite sides, gripping means working on said faces, means connecting the gripping means and working in the body to insure uniform movement of the gripping means on each side of the body, means for locking the gripping means at the highest point of their travel on the body, a plunger working in the body, means carried by the body to engage the plunger and hold the same in its lowermost position, a friction-cage carried by the plunger, and means for holding the plunger in the elevated position when the aforesaid means carried by the body is released from engagement with the plunger.

9. In a casing-spear, a body having inclined faces on opposite side faces thereof, toothed slips working on said faces, means connecting the slips to cause uniform movement thereof, a spring-pressed locking-pin engaging said connecting means to hold the slips at their highest point of travel on the inclined faces of the body, a plunger working in the lower end of the body, means for engagement with the plunger to hold the same in its lowermost position, and a friction-cage carried by the plunger, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof laflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE T. MAIES. 

